Great Li Martial God

Hearing this, Mu Qingxia’s gaze went blank for a moment. She was held in place and could not see Li Musheng himself at all, only hear his voice.

Even so, she could tell from the voice alone that the speaker was unmistakably very young.

Yet someone so young had sealed her acupoints through the air without a sound, and she had not sensed it in the slightest.

”How is that possible?”

Mu Qingxia could not believe it. She had walked the martial world in her younger years and was no stranger to the kind of constant vigilance that kept one alert to everything around her.

Yet she had been unable to resist being sealed, which meant that whoever had done it possessed extraordinary strength, both in martial cultivation and in the acupoint-sealing technique itself.

In Mu Qingxia’s view, a person with that level of ability could not possibly be so young, no matter how one looked at it.

Hu Rui’an, however, had no interest in what she thought. Li Musheng had given his instructions, and Hu Rui’an would carry them out at once.

Without the slightest hesitation he reached out, channeled his True Qi and took hold of Mu Qingxia, lifted her, then turned and walked directly into the Mei estate, glancing back at Li Musheng as he went, ”Your Highness, let us go.”

Hu Rui’an had already intended to take over the Sheng Province Tianjin Guards, but he had also been privately aware that the obstacles were considerable, not least of which was the Mei family itself standing in the way like an immovable stone.If he was being honest with himself, he had not had a great deal of confidence in it before. His standing, his rank, and his own martial cultivation were all insufficient to suppress the Mei family. If anything, it was quite possible the Mei family would have been the one doing the suppressing.

But the situation now was entirely different. With the Eighth Prince Li Musheng moving personally, both in terms of status and in terms of strength, the Mei family was simply outmatched and outranked in every respect. There was no comparison whatsoever.

In Hu Rui’an’s view, the forced deployment order tonight was already as good as done. There was not the slightest doubt about it.

And with such a powerful backer to rely on, he needed only to handle the running around and practical details himself. The weight on his shoulders had lifted considerably, and he found himself more than happy to be diligent.

Li Musheng gave a slight nod and followed after Hu Rui’an with Wu Shang and the others.

At that moment, Mu Qingxia, dangling in Hu Rui’an’s grip, wore an expression of shock and fury. She was just about to cry out angrily when she found she could no longer speak.

This was naturally Hu Rui’an, worried she might say something heated, sealing her mouth with a pulse of True Qi in good time so as not to affect Li Musheng’s mood behind them.

The large black cat followed along as well, trotting a few steps and trailing behind Hu Rui’an with evident curiosity, its green eyes studying Mu Qingxia in his hand from time to time.

Mu Qingxia’s expression shifted rapidly through a storm of emotions, anger, resentment, urgency, and worry all at once, yet with her acupoints sealed she could not move an inch. Even straining to say something, there was no one who paid her any attention.

The large black cat let out two meows that sounded rather like it was enjoying her predicament.

Mu Qingxia had clearly recognized the cat. She had seen it during the haunting at the Tianjin Guards branch office, and had even suspected it had some connection to the ghostly figures at the time. She had intended to catch it and look into the matter, but it had slipped away. She had never expected to find it now in the company of Hu Rui’an and the others.

At that point Hu Rui’an carried Mu Qingxia inside and strode straight into the Mei estate. The household servants who saw the sight were badly frightened, and all scrambled toward the inner courtyard to report.

Before long, a group of guards and household attendants appeared, gripping swords and blades as they formed a half-encircling line around Hu Rui’an and his group, though none of them actually dared step forward to act. They were not foolish enough for that. Their mistress, whose martial cultivation was formidable, had already been subdued by these people. Going forward themselves would be no different from throwing their lives away.

At that moment, the estate’s head steward came rushing from the inner courtyard, supporting a figure alongside him.

”Release my wife and everything can be discussed.”

Mei Yan, his face pale and his clothes thin, seemed to have just climbed out of bed, and called out in a panic as he ran forward.

Hu Rui’an stopped with Mu Qingxia still in his grip and looked at the Deputy Commander of Sheng Province, Mei Yan, who had just reached them. He narrowed his eyes and said, ”With those words from Lord Mei, I am at ease.”

Then Hu Rui’an glanced at Li Musheng, saw him wave a hand, and turned back to Mei Yan, speaking directly, ”Then Lord Mei may give the order. Have the Sheng Province Tianjin Guards depart for Lan Province immediately, tonight.”

Hearing this, Mei Yan’s brow furrowed, and as he looked over Hu Rui’an and the others, a look of sudden recognition crossed his face.

”So you are the group that came from the capital.”

As he said this, the slightly sickly look on Mei Yan’s face hardened into something cold, and he said in a cutting voice, ”Then you ought to know my position. Threatening a court official in this manner, do you have any regard for the laws of Great Li? Is this how Fu Qiwen taught you to conduct yourselves?”

At that moment, Mei Yan allowed an air of authority befitting a man of his rank to radiate from him, and at the same time released a trace of Heaven-Human level martial aura.

He was clearly attempting to use his standing within the Great Li court to make Hu Rui’an hesitate and think twice.

But Hu Rui’an only looked at him with a slightly mocking expression, saying, ”Lord Mei, spare us the speeches. Do you think we would come here not knowing who you are? Of course, if Lord Mei truly does not care whether his wife lives or dies, you are welcome to say so plainly.”

At those words, Mu Qingxia’s expression went cold, and she shot Mei Yan a withering glare.

Mei Yan quickly waved his hand toward his wife in reassurance, then looked at Hu Rui’an with an expression that shifted through several changes, saying, ”Release my wife first. Then I will consider agreeing to your demands.”

Hu Rui’an was just about to reply when Mei Yan suddenly found himself floating off the ground against his will.

At the same time, Li Musheng’s voice reached them, ”I have heard your Mei family has done a fair amount of harm. I do not have time to deal with all of that right now, but if you insist on dragging things out, I may find I have time after all.”

As his words ended, a faint rune light slipped quietly into Mei Yan’s body.

”Commissioner Hu, what comes next I leave to you. Whatever you need to ask or do, simply deal with him directly.”

Li Musheng said this to Hu Rui’an, and in the next instant Mei Yan felt as though ten thousand ants were gnawing through his body at once. He broke into a howl of uncontrollable agony that made everyone in the vicinity involuntarily flinch.

The large black cat, seeing this, had its fur stand on end for a brief moment, but once it took in the state Mei Yan was in, it quickly began meowing with what seemed like considerable satisfaction, rubbing itself against Li Musheng’s robe at his feet.

Hu Rui’an and the others watched Mei Yan’s sorry state, their pupils contracting slightly. None of them had expected Li Musheng to possess such a fearsome method of inflicting torment.

But Hu Rui’an was the first to compose himself, and he answered promptly, saying, ”Your Highness can rely on me. I will handle everything.”

Li Musheng nodded, then took the black cat and went to sit in a nearby pavilion that was brightly lit, leaving the affairs of the Mei estate entirely behind him.

Shen Anran, Wu Shang, and the others exchanged glances, and without idling about all moved to assist Hu Rui’an with what needed to be done.